July 07, 2020: When the government approved the Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line project in December 2010, construction of the 64.75km rail line was supposed to be completed within December 2013.
Implausible though it may sound, physical work of the project started in September 2016, allegedly due to complications concerning various issues, including land acquisition and changes in the design.
In the meantime, the project missed several deadlines and the cost rose more than doubled the original estimate.
The project was undertaken to bring the country’s second-largest seaport under a railway network and boost the regional connectivity.
As the latest deadline expired in June this year, the project authority has sought another extension period of at least one year as they could complete only 63 percent work till April this year, documents show.
“Possibility of completing the project in due time is unlikely. It may take up to December 2021 to complete the work,” according to a report of the planning ministry’s Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED).
The report, which was published last month, also forecast that the project cost may escalate further as “the scope of work was going to be increased.”
WHY THE PROJECT UNDERTAKEN?
In an attempt to reduce the dependency on Chattogram Port, the government has taken several steps to boost the capacity of Mongla seaport.
Bringing Mongla Port under a railway network is one of them. Once the broad gauge rail line is installed between Khulna and Mongla, the port would directly be connected with the capital as a rail line from Dhaka to Jashsore through Padma Bridge, which is expected to be operational in June 2021.
Besides, regional connectivity would get a boost as Nepal and Bhutan would be able to use the port.
The project is being implemented with the money came under the first line of credit from India.
Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on December 31, 2010 approved the project involving Tk 1,721 crore.
The deadline was initially extended to December 2014, then to June 2018 and finally to June 2020.
In the meantime, project cost rose to Tk 3,801 crore, of which India would provide Tk 2371.34 crore as soft loan.
Apart from the rail line, the project includes a 21.11-km loop line, eight stations, 716-metre Rupsha Bridge, and 31 major and minor bridges.
REASONS BEHIND DELAY
According to IMED report, the project was supposed to see 87 percent progress till April this year. But it witnessed only 63.01 percent physical progress during this time.
A delay in selecting the alignment of the rail line postponed the final survey and detail design.
When the detail design was prepared, the district administrations in Khulna and Bagerhat could not handover the total land to the project authority on time, causing further delay.
When the physical works started in 2016, design of the project had to be reviewed “due to the soil quality”, which caused an additional delay, the IMED report says.
The report recommended necessary and skilled manpower be deployed and necessary budgetary allocation be ensured to complete the work within the target time.
WHAT THE PROJECT AUTHORITIES SAY?
Contacted, Project Director Ramzan Ali said works of the project remained halted for around one and a half months due to Covid-19 pandemic. “We have restarted works in May but progress is very slow due to manpower and equipment shortage,” he told The Daily Star on July 5.
“Although we have sought a one-year extension, it may not be possible to complete the work within one year. It may require two more years,” he said.
Source: the Daily Star
